Greta Thunberg’s FINAL ‘School Strike for Climate’ as she graduates

Greta Thunberg staged her last school climate strike today as she graduated at the age of 20 – five years after the Swedish activist and her classmates first walked out to call attention to climate change.

After going on strike in 2018 to raise awareness of rising sea levels and temperatures, the young campaigner’s impact began to be felt globally in what became known as ‘the Greta effect’.

Millions of young people have since taken to the streets to protest for the planet’s future, and Greta subsequently spoke at the UN and raised her cause with governments around the world.

Barely out of her teens, she is now one of the most recognizable figures in the world, and arguably the face of the fight against climate change.

Here, MailOnline charts Greta’s rise from a quiet schoolgirl to one of the most outspoken and impactful activists of her generation.

Greta and other climate activists protest outside the Swedish parliament in Stockholm

Started at home

Greta first learned about climate change in 2011 when she was eight, and quickly became depressed about the prospect of the planet dying.

She was later diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, OCD and selective mutism – which she later noted, referring to her battle against climate change, means she “speaks only when necessary.”

In her first climate win, Greta convinced her parents to change their lifestyle.

Initially unsure of her activism and concerned about her missing school, they soon joined her Fridays for Future initiative.

Fridays for the future

Greta started school absenteeism in 2018 to strike. Her protests became part of the Fridays for Future movement

Greta held her first school dropout protest on August 20, 2018.

The schoolgirl, who had just started ninth grade, decided not to attend school until Sweden’s 2018 general election on September 9.

Her decision to strike was fueled by Sweden’s hottest summer in more than 260 years and raging forest fires in the country.

She staged her protest outside the Riksdag demanding that the Swedish government cut carbon emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.

She protested every day during school hours for three weeks under the banner Skolstrejk för klimatet (School strike for the climate) – which she has used to this day.

The movement has seen the mass mobilization of young people against climate change, with children as young as five putting pressure on governments around the world.

Greta leads a Fridays For Future rally demanding action on climate change in Turin in 2019

UN Climate Conference 2018

Greta’s impassioned speech criticizing adults for not doing enough to save the planet for their children went viral in 2018, sparking widespread climate activism.

The precocious 15-year-old impressed the world with her speech, telling the leaders present that they were “not mature enough to tell it like it is.”

“What I hope we achieve at this conference is that we realize that we are dealing with an existential threat.

“This is the greatest crisis humanity has ever faced. We must first realize that and then act as quickly as possible to halt emissions and try to save what we can save.’

Speech from the British Parliament

Greta addressed politicians, media and guests with the Houses of Parliament on April 23, 2019

Greta gave a speech to a cross-party group of MPs in 2019, with the notable absence of then Prime Minister Theresa May.

“We just want people to listen to the science,” the 16-year-old told those gathered for the climate change roundtable.

“The UK’s active current support for new fossil fuel exploitations, such as the UK’s shale gas fracking industry, North Sea oil expansion, airport expansion and planning permission for a brand new coal mine, is beyond absurd.”

‘Did you hear me? Is my English good? Because I’m starting to wonder,” Thunberg said.

Her visit coincided with the massive Extinction Rebellion action across London, where roads and transport were disrupted for days.

Donald Trump ‘death stare’

Greta Thunberg’s ‘death stare’ at Donald Trump (above) when he put her to the test at Monday’s UN climate summit has already become a viral meme on social media

Greta became an internet sensation again when she attended the United Nations Climate Summit in New York at the age of 16.

She told the delegates “you stole my dreams and my childhood” and that world leaders “failed” humanity.

Among those who did not attend was then US President Donald Trump

When the pair briefly crossed paths at UN headquarters, she was spotted giving him a steely look, labeled by many online as a “death stare.”

The furious expression on her face quickly became an internet sensation and a social media storm ensued between the two.

After her emotionally charged speech at the UN, the US president wrote that Greta “looks like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future” in a mocking tweet.

But appearing on a Swedish talk show from New York today, the teen climate activist said Trump’s mockery “makes no difference.”

In December 2019, President Trump mocked her again after she was named Person of the Year for 2019 by Time

He tweeted, “So ridiculous. Greta needs to work on her anger management problem and then go to a good old-fashioned movie with a friend! Calm down Greta, calm down!’

Greta responded by changing her Twitter biography to read, “A teen working on her anger management problem. Currently chilling and watching a good old fashioned movie with a friend.”

She later repeated it back and forth during the 2020 presidential election, commenting on Trump’s tweeting, “Stop the count!” with the caption, “So ridiculous. Donald needs to work on his anger management problem and then go to an old-fashioned movie with a friend! Calm down Donald, calm down!’

Sailing to the UN

Greta arrives in the US after a 15-day journey across the Atlantic in the Malizia II, a carbon-free yacht

The eco-warrior used her 2019 UN speech to praise Trump for his climate record, but it was her mode of transportation to the New York conference that many people talked about.

The 16-year-old sailed into Manhattan on a zero-carbon yacht to avoid using an aircraft’s emissions.

She was greeted by hundreds of activists as she stepped off the yacht at the World Trade Center.

She has led an anti-flying movement during her years of campaigning, promoting travel by boat and train instead of high-carbon flying.

Taken away by police

Police officers dragged Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg away from the edge of the Garzweiler II opencast lignite mine in January

The Swedish climate activist was taken away by police in January during a protest at a mine in Lutzerath.

Greta was once again carried away by police officers during a protest in Oslo against a wind farm built on indigenous land in Norway.

The Swedish climate activist had joined indigenous Sami demonstrators in blocking access to the Norwegian Foreign Ministry to protest wind turbines left on reindeer land despite a court ruling.

What now?

Greta Thunberg stands with a sign reading School strike for climate on what was ‘technically’ the last day of her school strike for action ahead of her graduation

While her strike days at school may be over, Greta has promised to continue her weekly strikes.

“We who can speak out have a duty to do so. To change everything, we need everyone,” she wrote on Twitter.

“I will continue to protest on Friday, even if it is not technically a ‘school strike’.

“We just have to do everything we can. The fight has only just begun.”